"Up where they walk, Up where they run
Up where they stay all day in the sun
Wandering free... Wish I could be...
Part of that world"
-excerpt from Part of Your World (OST Little Mermaid)
Up where they stay all day in the sun
Wandering free... Wish I could be...
Part of that world"
-excerpt from Part of Your World (OST Little Mermaid)
I grew up watching Disney animated fairy tales. One of my favorites is the story of the little mermaid named Ariel and how she traded her voice to have a chance with his prince. It is a typical and-they-live-happily-ever-after story, little did I know the Disney version has a different ending from what Han's Christian Andersen made.
The original Little Mermaid is also about a little mermaid who lives with his father (Sea King), five older sisters and her grandmother. It was their custom that when a mermaid turns 15, she will be allowed to go to the surface and see how the land creatures' world. When the Little Mermaid turned 15, she saw a ship with a prince and fell immediately in love with him. Like the animated version, the prince fell off the ship and the Little Mermaid saved him while bringing him to the shore. The shore was near a temple and she waits there until a young girl (from the temple) finds him.
In the story, it was explained (by the grandmother) that humans have a shorter life span as compared with the mermaids. The mermaids can leave up to 300 years but when they die, they will turn into sea foam and they ceased to exist; whereas, humans have eternal souls that goes to heaven upon their death. With this knowledge and the love she felt for the Prince, the Little Mermaid went to the sea witch and traded her voice for a potion that could give her legs. It was also told that if the prince will love and marry her, she will gets a soul but if he marries another, she will die with a broken heart following the first day of his marriage.
Once she gained her feet and met her love, the prince was attracted to her to the point where he considered her as a potential wife if he was unable to marry the girl from the temple. When the prince's father ordered him to marry a princess from another kingdom, he said that he could only love the young girl from the temple and if not her, he would choose the little mermaid who was beginning to take the place of the girl from the temple in his heart. But when the prince finally met the princess, he found out that she was the same girl in the temple and decided to marry her.
After their marriage, the little mermaid's heart was broken and she realized the things that she has to sacrifice for him. She later saw her sisters and told her that in exchange of their hairs, the sea witch gave them a knife that would help her to become a mermaid again if she kills the prince.
Because of the love she has for the Prince, it was impossible for the Little Mermaid to take his life. So at the morning after the Prince's marriage, the Little Mermaid jumps to the sea, her body turns into foam but unlike of the under mermaids, she turned into an eternal spirit and becomes a daughter of the Air.
Moral of the Story: When we fall in love, we risk a part of ourselves to gain an opportunity to fulfill the possibilities of a happy ending. But sometimes, we don't get what we hoped for and have our hearts broken. But this failure should not be a reason to blame others for our despair. It was our choice to give (or accept) love, our choice to share a part of our selves, our choice to give them a chance to be part of our lives. But they also have a choice... that we have to respect even though it would hurt us.
Who knows... Maybe, the reason why we cry today is also the reason why we will smile tomorrow.
The original Little Mermaid is also about a little mermaid who lives with his father (Sea King), five older sisters and her grandmother. It was their custom that when a mermaid turns 15, she will be allowed to go to the surface and see how the land creatures' world. When the Little Mermaid turned 15, she saw a ship with a prince and fell immediately in love with him. Like the animated version, the prince fell off the ship and the Little Mermaid saved him while bringing him to the shore. The shore was near a temple and she waits there until a young girl (from the temple) finds him.
In the story, it was explained (by the grandmother) that humans have a shorter life span as compared with the mermaids. The mermaids can leave up to 300 years but when they die, they will turn into sea foam and they ceased to exist; whereas, humans have eternal souls that goes to heaven upon their death. With this knowledge and the love she felt for the Prince, the Little Mermaid went to the sea witch and traded her voice for a potion that could give her legs. It was also told that if the prince will love and marry her, she will gets a soul but if he marries another, she will die with a broken heart following the first day of his marriage.
Once she gained her feet and met her love, the prince was attracted to her to the point where he considered her as a potential wife if he was unable to marry the girl from the temple. When the prince's father ordered him to marry a princess from another kingdom, he said that he could only love the young girl from the temple and if not her, he would choose the little mermaid who was beginning to take the place of the girl from the temple in his heart. But when the prince finally met the princess, he found out that she was the same girl in the temple and decided to marry her.
After their marriage, the little mermaid's heart was broken and she realized the things that she has to sacrifice for him. She later saw her sisters and told her that in exchange of their hairs, the sea witch gave them a knife that would help her to become a mermaid again if she kills the prince.
Because of the love she has for the Prince, it was impossible for the Little Mermaid to take his life. So at the morning after the Prince's marriage, the Little Mermaid jumps to the sea, her body turns into foam but unlike of the under mermaids, she turned into an eternal spirit and becomes a daughter of the Air.
Moral of the Story: When we fall in love, we risk a part of ourselves to gain an opportunity to fulfill the possibilities of a happy ending. But sometimes, we don't get what we hoped for and have our hearts broken. But this failure should not be a reason to blame others for our despair. It was our choice to give (or accept) love, our choice to share a part of our selves, our choice to give them a chance to be part of our lives. But they also have a choice... that we have to respect even though it would hurt us.
Who knows... Maybe, the reason why we cry today is also the reason why we will smile tomorrow.
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